Senate Resolution 110 - Introduced SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 110 BY REICHMAN A Resolution recognizing and honoring Zion Mennonite 1 Church in Donnellson, Iowa, on its 175th 2 anniversary. 3 WHEREAS, the first Mennonites to settle west of the 4 Mississippi River were the John Carl Krehbiel family at 5 West Point, Iowa, on November 1, 1839, just six years 6 after the Iowa Territory was opened for settlement; and 7 WHEREAS, by 1845, there were enough Mennonite 8 families in Lee County to formally organize a church 9 service, but this early gathering faced tragedy when 10 their first ordained minister, Reverend Johannes 11 Mueller (Miller), was murdered during a robbery the day 12 before that service on May 11, 1845; and 13 WHEREAS, on May 5, 1850, the congregation dedicated 14 the completion of the first Mennonite church west of 15 the Mississippi built out of logs and located about one 16 and one-half miles east of Franklin, Iowa, known as the 17 “Busch” Mennonite Church; and 18 WHEREAS, a group of five families from the 19 Palatinate in Germany, settled west of West Point in 20 the Franklin Township area of Lee County, known as the 21 “Franklin Prairie”, and organized another congregation 22 to be known as the Zion congregation; and 23 WHEREAS, these families held the first service in 24 late autumn of 1851 in a little frame school house, 25 District No. 4, in Franklin Township, led by Reverend 26 Henry Ellenberger; and 27 WHEREAS, the Zion congregation understood that a 28 -1- LSB 6913XS (3) 91 ss/jm 1/ 3

S.R. 110 church community without a school could not exist, so 1 they established the first Mennonite school west of the 2 Mississippi River on August 2, 1853, led by Christian 3 Schowalter who taught for 36 years, maintaining the 4 teaching of the Bible and German grammar until it 5 ceased operation in 1918, during World War I, due to 6 national sentiments against those openly speaking 7 German; and 8 WHEREAS, the Zion congregation adopted its first 9 constitution on November 5, 1853, under the official 10 name German Evangelical Mennonite Congregation in 11 Franklin Township, Lee County, Iowa; and 12 WHEREAS, on October 21, 1855, the Zion congregation 13 dedicated its first building built of limestone located 14 on the present Zion cemetery, two miles north and one 15 mile west of Donnellson; and 16 WHEREAS, at this first stone church, on March 17 21, 1859, the Zion and West Point churches held a 18 meeting that is considered to be the beginning of 19 the unification of the Mennonite congregations and 20 that led to the founding of the General Conference 21 Mennonite Church on May 28 and 29, 1860, which then 22 met in Nashville, Tennessee, in July 2001 to unite the 23 General Conference with the Mennonite Church to form 24 the Mennonite Church, USA; and 25 WHEREAS, on February 2, 1909, the Zion Mennonite 26 Church in Donnellson, Iowa, was dedicated and has 27 faithfully served its congregation for 117 years; and 28 WHEREAS, Zion Mennonite became yoked with the 29 Donnellson Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., on August 23, 30 -2- LSB 6913XS (3) 91 ss/jm 2/ 3

S.R. 110 1970, where both maintained their denomination identity 1 and polity while sharing ministries and working 2 together as Christians to spread the joy and message 3 of the Gospel of Christ for 40 years until the closure 4 of the Donnellson Presbyterian Church on January 31, 5 2010; and 6 WHEREAS, the congregation today is led by Rachelle 7 Luitjens of Olds, Iowa, the 37th pastor overseeing 8 Sunday services and the works of the church; and 9 WHEREAS, the mission of Zion Mennonite Church is, 10 “Trusting in God’s hope for our future, we meet God in 11 rich and meaningful worship, nurture each generation 12 to grow in faith, and serve the needs of others in 13 love, here and around the world; as a beacon of God’s 14 love, we invite all people to join our family as we 15 joyfully live together with Jesus in the power of the 16 Holy Spirit”; NOW THEREFORE, 17 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Senate 18 congratulates and honors Zion Mennonite Church’s 19 historical presence in Iowa and for 175 years of 20 Anabaptism and Mennonite fellowship in Lee County, the 21 state of Iowa, and across the globe; and 22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate recognizes 23 that global Mennonites celebrated 500 years of 24 Anabaptism in 2025, honoring its founding by Menno 25 Simons in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1525. 26 -3- LSB 6913XS (3) 91 ss/jm 3/ 3